Brown furious as ITV asks about sick son

An apparent attempt by Gordon Brown to show his "human side" led to a furious row yesterday between Downing Street and ITV after the Prime Minister was questioned about his youngest son's struggle with cystic fibrosis.

Mr Brown rarely discusses his family and has said very little publicly about his one-year-old son, Fraser.

Fern Britton, on ITV's This Morning show, invited him to take the opportunity to "be a human being" and asked if it was "too personal" to inquire about Fraser's health.

He replied: "He is doing well, and although he has got cystic fibrosis, he is really doing well and we are very hopeful... I want him to be a rugby player or a football player."

Last night Downing Street aides accused ITV of breaking the rules by asking Mr Brown about his son, which was "off limits". Allies of Mr Brown resented the impression that he was using his family to soften his image and pointed out he was uncomfortable with the line of questioning.